章節 32: He's Cheating!

The announcement created a huge uproar within the crowd and people started jumping off their seats and banging on the protection barrier, clearly trying to break it so they could give Mako a piece of their mind.

This entire time Mako wasn't even paying attention as he didn't even know when Ash came forward and picked his hand up in the air to declare him the winner. Mako's attention was caught completely by a blue display in front of his eyes.

Mako first tried to use Analyze on Rhino once again and just like with Leon, and now he was able to read his profile chart. This made him realize that even if he was weaker than his opponent, he could still get a read on him if he knocked them out.

[Analyze]

[Profile: Enzo Ceros] (Unconscious)

[Ability: Mutant Rhino Transformation (Level 3)] ⓘ

[Health: 298/500] ⓘ

[Energy: 24/400] ⓘ

[Strength: 45] ⓘ

[Agility: 18] ⓘ

[Perception: 8] ⓘ

[Intelligence: 3] ⓘ

[Mentality: 6] ⓘ

[Stamina: 12] ⓘ

[Charisma: 8] ⓘ

[Fortitude: 25] ⓘ

[Ability: Mutant Rhino Transformation (Level 3)] ⓘ

[A transformation ability that allows the user to take on the form of the Mutant Rhino, giving the user immense boosts in strength and fortitude, but a reduction in speed and intelligence. At the user's current level, the user can fully and partially transform into the Mutant Rhino, giving a different amount of boosts depending on the amount of the body transformed]

Mako was beyond shocked at the level of strength and fortitude Rhino had as he still had a lot of health, but the reason for his defeat was his stamina was too low which meant that he was wasting his energy and probably knocked himself out due to exhaustion from using too much energy.

A wave of realization hit Mako of how lucky he had gotten as this was the second time that a strong opponent had tired himself to the point that he could easily knock them out, but this lucky streak won't continue forever so it was better to quit while he was ahead.

Mako learned that it was better to be more calculative, humble, and modest rather than to be cocky and overconfident as this almost led to his death tonight.

Next, Mako looked at the notifications tab and it was there he noticed a brand-new notification he had never seen before.

[Emergency Quest Has Been Overruled]

Mako had no idea what this meant because the emergency quest had hinted to him to just find a way to survive, but he had defeated Rhino instead albeit with the use of pills.

Quickly opening the 'Quests' tab, Mako was given his answer.

[Emergency Quest Has Been Overruled]

[User has defied the odds, and accomplished greater than the task at hand]

[Processing Suitable Rewards]

[Processing Complete]

[Rewards: 10,000 EXP, +2 All Attributes, New Title, Fortitude has been Unlocked]

[A great achievement! The user has obtained the title of 'PERSEVERANCE'! Titles will now be shown in the Titles tab on the main system interface.]

[User has leveled up!]

[Reward: +10 Attribute points, Random Attribute Increase]

[Current Level: Lvl 8]

[Intelligence has been elevated to 20]

Not only did he get the 2000 EXP for defeating a difficult level 3 opponent, but he also gained an additional 10,000 EXP, a brand new title that he had to look into, and his Fortitude attribute had been finally unlocked.

Mako was just about finished reading the last notification when his still super-advanced perception kicked in and he unconsciously dodged a seat being chucked at him from the crowd.

The crowd of spectators had broken through the protective barrier as most of them had level 1 or level 2 abilities, but the guards instantly blocked anyone from entering the ring. People present and on the internet had gone mad over Mako's defeat as in their minds it wasn't even possible and they started labeling him with things such as 'cheater' and 'fraud'.

Now some of the spectators who had lost a lot of money tried to attack Mako by throwing whatever they could at him, but he just slowly walked back to the announcement table on the south corner of the ring while his perception kept his body untouched by all the random things that were being thrown at him.

The crowd was stunned once again when they saw that not even one of their projectiles managed to graze Mako.

The security guards were given the order through a communication device and they started backing people away while the announcer directed their attention toward the other events happening on the floor.

Mako arrived back at the registration booth where rather than Tyler and the other guy with jet-black hair, five men clad in all-black suits were standing there waiting for Mako.

Mako had an icy cold expression on his face even though he could sense that these were most likely level 4 ability users.

"Mr. Blaze, we congratulate you on your victory tonight, but due to your unexpected performance, there are many of our loyal customers who demand that we search for you." The man in the middle spoke with a serious tone.

Mako didn't resist in any way and let the men commit the search. They first used a portable scanner of some sort which scanned him with a red light. Mako had his blade on him but since the blade was in contact with his body, he could put it in his inventory even though he was not holding it in his hands.

After finding nothing was out of the ordinary, it turned green. Second, they used a small purple patch of some sort on Mako's belly and when Mako asked what it was for, they responded by saying it checked if the person had consumed any pills.

The Healing Pill was still taking effect so Mako's Body still looked injured from the fight but not to the point that they could accuse him of taking a healing pill. As soon as the patch made contact with the skin, a notification popped into Mako's line of sight.

[Invasive Substance Detected]

[Does the user want to nullify the effects?]

[YES/NO]

Mako instantly choose the 'YES' option and with that, the patch also didn't reveal anything. There was visible shock on their faces while Mako put back his shirt. Tyler and the other person with jet-black hair came back from behind the booth just as the five men had completed their inspection.

"He's clear!" The person in the middle said to Tyler who nodded in acknowledgment which was the cue for the five men to leave. Once they left, Tyler took out one of the portable money transfer machines, and Mako placed his money card on it to begin the transfer.

{50,000 credits successfully transferred}

Both men proceeded to give Mako a little praise and a handshake on his outstanding performance while the five men from earlier made it to the middle of the ring to announce the results of their inspection of him.

Mako returned the handshake and proceeded to remove his card from the device before proceeding to leave whilst listening to the cries and angry screams of the spectators who had lost all their money betting on Rhino in the background.

Mako met up with Bill again who was also genuinely shocked at his performance as he also praised his strength while subconsciously thinking of the fact that if the rate of Mako's progression was this insane already, what would have happened if he issued his duel with him at later date.

Bill shuddered internally at such a thought while they both started walking back towards one of the elevators to go back home. Mako was disappointed in the fact that the entire reason why he participated in this event was to get the attention of a certain someone, but alas he had failed.

While walking towards the elevators, the boost he got from the pills finally finished as he felt extremely nauseous and dizzy for a couple of seconds before regaining his composure.

'This must be a side effect of returning to your original state after being temporarily powered up for some time.' Mako concluded in his thought while Bill was left confused as to why he showed a few seconds of weakness, but just shrugged it off as just being fatigued after the fight.

Now in his original state, Mako decided to check out his profile again.

'Open System Interface'

[User: Mako Grey]

[Health: 200/200] ⓘ

[Energy: 500/500] ⓘ

[EXP: 9000/12800] ⓘ

[Level 8] ⓘ

[Strength: 22 (+10) ] ⓘ

[Agility: 17 (+5) ] ⓘ

[Perception: 22] ⓘ

[Intelligence: 20] ⓘ

[Mentality: 14] ⓘ

[Stamina: 14 (+5) ] ⓘ

[Charisma: Locked] ⓘ

[Fortitude: 5] ⓘ

[Attribute Points: 11] ⓘ

Mako was content with how his profile looked at the moment as he now unlocked the final attribute he was missing, which was his fortitude.

There were still other events going on, but Mako had no interest in extending his, especially because Rhino's sponsor had most probably added him to his target list as he was sure they had lost some money.

Bill also took out his money card which displayed a shocking number that the two boys couldn't even fathom.

{Balance: 431,876 Credits}

This, combined with Mako's earnings and his previous savings brought the total amount of money that they own to become bigger than half a million credits!

Mako had a huge smile on his face which was mostly covered by his facemask, but that didn't stop him from doing it anyway. According to Mako's calculations, Bill and himself needed a total of 1.5 to 2 million credits to be able to compete with some of the crazy things that they had seen on the documents regarding the recruitment tests.

Feeling accomplished for the night, Mako treated Bill to a deluxe burger meal in the main restaurant of the Emperium hotel, and although it was not as good as Gary's, it was still delicious and they had a good time.

Finally, they made their way out of the hotel so they could go home and rest which was needed as even though Mako had replenished some of his energy points he was still physically and mentally exhausted.

Just as they were about to leave through the main doorway, a shadowy figure wearing all black rushed past them with great speed, nudging Mako in the process. The nudge wasn't too hard so Mako didn't fall over, but by the time he looked up to see who had run into him, there was none to be found.

They looked around for a bit but couldn't find anyone. Thinking as if it might have been an accident, they decided to forget about it and be on their way, but during their walk back home, Mako put his hands in his jacket only to feel that there was something there.

"Huh? What's this?" Mako said out loud as he reached into his pocket and brought out a strange card.

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章節 33: Invitation

Mako reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. It wasn't a regular card as it was made of metal and was of very high quality as well. It was purple with feathers in the background and the dark silhouette of a crow or a raven's head with the rest of the body of the bird transitioning into black flames.

Mako had no idea what this card was or how it even got into his pocket in the first place but upon laying his eyes on the card, Bill instantly froze in place with fear.

"W-W-Where-e d-did y-youuu get tha...that?" Bill asked while his body shivered up and down.

"Huh? I don't know, I just reached into my pocket and this was already inside. What's wrong?" Mako was now even more confused because not only did he not know where this card came from, but now Bill was acting weird as well.

Bill instantly broke out of his daze as he took an extremely serious expression," We can't discuss it here, hurry! follow me back to your house, quickly." Bill as he started bolting to the nearest alley.

Mako couldn't understand what was happening, but he decided to just follow Bill, and ask questions later.

Bill didn't take a simple route back to his house which would have taken about 20 minutes, rather he was constantly going from one alley to another, crisscrossing his movements and often looping certain areas. It seemed as if Bill was running away from something, but Mako couldn't see anyone following them.

After what seemed like an entire hour of constant running, the two boys finally made their way back home. As soon as Mako entered the house, he saw Bill constantly moving back and forth in the living room scared out of his mind and muttering something to himself.

"What the hell is going on?!" Mako asked loudly as he was already exhausted from his fight, and now he was forced to run around the city for an entire hour.

"Mako, do you have any idea what that card represents?" Bill replied in such a trembly and shacky manner.

Mako was a bit taken aback by how Bill was reacting as he was the type of person who wouldn't show fear no matter what situation he was in, so this had to be a serious topic or else Bill wouldn't act this way.

Taking a seat on the couch, Mako grabbed Bill's shoulders and gently nudged him so he would sit beside him.

"Let's start from the beginning, explain to me what this card means?" Mako asked politely this time.

After taking a few deep breaths, Bill calmed down and proceeded to explain to Mako just what was the importance of this card

"This card is an invitation! An invitation to the tournament held by the Dark Raven!" Bill exclaimed as pointed at the black ship that was textured on the card.

"The Dark Raven is one of the rival gangs that would cause trouble for us as we were part of El Diablo's gang, Los Zetas," Bill explained so Mako could get rid of his dumbfounded look.

"I should have known when that shadowy figure ran past us, this is how they mostly give out invitations for their weird tournaments ." Bill realized as he grabbed the card from Mako's hand.

A small button was attached on the backside, and upon pressing it a small holographic display appeared with the image of Leon of all people otherwise known as the Dark Assassin.

Hearing that name in his head again, something clicked in Mako's head as he wondered as Leon and the Dark Raven must have been associates thus the similar-sounding stage names and him also appearing in the holographic display.

"Congratulations on your victory tonight Mr. Blaze! I still don't know how you managed to win against us since Rhino was a peak tier Level 3 ability user; anyhow, the Dark Raven's monthly initiation tournament is only 15 days away as this is your formal invitation to attend this event." Leon stated with a smirk as it was more of a command than a request.

Leon was still wearing his outfit so they couldn't see his face, but judging by what little they could see and his overall expression, it was safe to say that he was not happy. It was probably because he recorded this just after he had lost against Mako in the semi-finals and was now seeking revenge.

"Oh, and bring that rat who escaped El Diablo too, if you don't come then we will reveal both of your whereabouts to El Diablo himself." Leon threatened in the end as the video finished displaying.

As soon as the display was over, multiple characters appeared on the card displaying an address where the tournament will take place.

Sweat dripped down Bill's forehead as he heard the last line of the message. Now that he knew his cover was blown, he couldn't help but think back to his past imprisonment.

Bill started shuddering all over as it looked like he was about to go into a panic attack, but before anything could occur, Mako firmly grabbed Bill by his shoulders and shook him violently.

"Get it together! This is not all bad news." Mako shouted as Bill was knocked out of his panicked state, but now he was more confused with what Mako was saying.

After sighing for a bit, Mako decided to remind Bill why they participated in tonight's event in the first place. It was to gain enough funds to purchase more things so that they would be able to stand a chance during the recruitment test.

They had gained more than sufficient funds to do that since no one expected Mako's debut fight to be won in such an overwhelming manner, and that there would be a person who would constantly bet on him.

After calming Bill down a bit more, Mako went to explain what their future moves would be. Using the funds they had accumulated, they were going to first and foremost go on a shopping spree to level up, and then accept the challenge from the Black Raven as an opportunity to gain more experience, before the test.

According to the knowledge Bill had from his past, gangs such as the Black Raven would hold monthly tournaments in which they would invite or more specifically force fighters; that they found to be exceptional, to be drafted in a tournament-style match-up where the top ten would be offered a place in the Dark Raven.

Bill also explained that since they weren't affiliated with any gang, they lacked the protection that they would otherwise receive for the bonus of not sharing the won money. This is because most of the earned money is taken by the gang and the fighter is paid a certain percentage of that.

Since Bill was still a newbie level 3 ability user, he would receive 5% of all the won money if he was able to defeat a person of the same caliber.

"Um? I still didn't understand why you made us run around the entire city for an hour." Mako inquired Bill in an annoyed tone.

"That was so that they couldn't track us," Bill replied in a serious tone as he went to explain that the Dark Ravens utilized any methods necessary to make sure they get what they want from someone else.

"If we were to refuse their invitation and not show up at the event, they will send out pursuers to target us until we comply and participate. They most likely had their men, situated on multiple rooftops when we were exiting, so that they could follow us back home, but hopefully, due to my maneuvers, they weren't able to get our exact location." Bill explained.

Now that Mako was aware of the bigger picture, he would have to plan accordingly so that he would not make the same mistakes he did this time around.

During his match with Rhino, his overconfidence was the reason for his almost certain death. This was like a wake-up call to him as it reminded him of the fact that even though he had been blessed with the Universal Power System, he could not take it for granted and would have put in more effort than ever before.

The boys were exhausted from their night activities so they each left the conversation there, intending to pick it back up tomorrow after a good night's rest.

****************

{Saturday}

The boys slept in late into the afternoon since they were both tired from exerting themselves the night before especially Mako who had a near-death experience.

At around 3 pm, both boys slogged their feet across the kitchen floor as Mako heated yesterday's leftovers. They both ate in silence and did some chores around the house before finally making their way back to the library on Bird's Eye street.

This time; however, they had a bigger spending budget and Mako was hoping to get the best bang for his hard-earned buck.

"Time for an upgrade!" Mako said as he put his arm around Bill's neck while making their way to the library.

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